Emotional influences of color in the design of interior spaces

Design researches and its association with emotions are new research in the world. There is an apparent lack in Iraq of research dealing with the emotional aspect of design. Selections of colors for interior spaces were usually accomplished either by the designer or by the investor based on imported formulas, especially in fast food restaurants. This was the main problem addressed in this research. One of the most important objectives of the research was to determine the emotional values of the primary and secondary colors based on the choices of samples from Iraqi society. The researcher examined color and its relationship with emotions in a theoretical framework. In addition, previous studies are reviewed and discussed. A survey study was conducted to reach the research data. The most important of these is the design of two questionnaires to determine the emotional vocabulary for each color based on the culture of Iraqi society. One of the questionnaires was created for abstract colors and the other for the interiors of fast-food restaurants. Participants in the questionnaire were students of the Department of Design, University of Baghdad. The research reached a number of results, the most important results were: a) each color has an emotional value that varies based on time, place, and society's culture. b) It is preferable to use yellow, separately or as a dominant color, in fast food interiors in Iraq, as it has achieved the highest emotional vocabulary, Acceptable and Attractive, followed by violet color.